Getting students to think flexibly can be hard and having them practice this important social skill can be just as challenging. Incorporating some fun elements like flexible thinking games can make learning and practicing this concept more exciting for students.
What Is Flexible Thinking
What is the important social skill of flexible thinking?
In its simplist terms, it is the cognitive ability to think differently about a situation. It involves seeing multiple solutions to a problem.
This is the opposite of rigid thinking. Rigid thinking (or some say stuck thinking) is only being able to think of one solution to a problem.
If you want to learn more about the flexible thinking definition, check out this article.
Or if you are looking for some thinking flexibly examples, read this article.
Flexible thinking is often something that pops up when writing a behavior intervention plan. If you are looking for a great, free resource on how to write an amazing behavior plan that actually works, type in your name and email where to send it to so it can be delivered straight to your inbox.
Flexible Thinking Meaning with a Hands On Activity
Not much is better when helping students understand a concept than when using a hands-on activity.
One of the easiest games around this topic is to have students search for things around the room that have those qualities.
First, tell students what the keywords ‘flexible’ and ‘rigid’ mean. Then give them an example of something in the room they can touch for each. For example, a stress ball is flexible while the table is rigid.
Have students go around the room finding different things that are flexible and rigid. Students can find an object and then share out with others. See how many different things within the classroom can be categorized this way.
You can also have students think about objects at home that would either be rigid or flexible. They can either list them out or draw pictures of them.
Board Games for Flexible Thinking
Board games are a super fun activity that many students love to play.
You can use them in a few different ways to learn flexible thinking.
First is to just choose any game and work on good sportsmanship when things don’t go how the student would like. This is especially great for students who always need to win. You can take the small situations that happen in the game, like not rolling a certain number they need or getting bumped back to start. Have students give two or three different ideas of how to respond to the situation. Then talk about which one is the best flexible way and why.
Another way is to make a game using situations to have students decide which type of thinking is happening. One of my favorite ways to do this is to make a take on the traditional game of Bingo. The calling cards can feature situations that happen in everyday life. Then make bingo cards that have squares that match the situations for students to line up and get bingo from.
If you are thinking that making your own game sounds like a lot of work and you aren’t in a place for that, check out this pre-done bingo game for flexible thinking. You’ll find 36 calling cards along with 10 unique bingo boards. Simple print, cut out the calling cards, grab something to be markers, and play. Students will love this interactive flexible thinking game (and not even realize they are learning!).
Flexible Thinking Skills Practice is Going Digital
Many students can get sucked right into activities that involve a digital aspect.
This is especially true for game-type activities that are interactive.
One great digital component that has made its presence known within the last few years is Boom Cards. If you aren’t sure what Boom Cards are, check out this article for the scoop.
Boom cards are great for a few reasons. First is that they are self-checking. This allows students to see if they are on the right track immediately. Plus no more calling the teacher’s name after every question. Win-win!
Another reason they are great is that they can be used both as an instruction piece during a lesson but also as an assessment tool. Boom decks can track student responses that you as the teacher can see. You can see how long it took them to do the assignment (a heck yes for helping the rushing student who promises they slowed down and took their time but you are strongly doubting). It also reports what percentage they got correct and incorrect. This will help you see if they really understood the subject matter or if some re-teaching needs to take place.
On another positive note, Boom Cards are fun to make once you get the hang of it. You can customize them completely and even add in sound. Adding backgrounds, text of situations, and audio support for non-readers is all something you can do. And don’t forget about making them in an exciting theme by adding fun graphics.
If you don’t have time to play around with making your own boom cards, check out these all on flexible thinking. There are 2 decks so there are plenty of situations for students to identify which way of thinking was seeing whether it be flexible or rigid. Plus each situation has audio support so students who struggle reading the text can listen to it. Find these engaging flexible thinking boom cards here.
Acting Out Flexible Thinking Scenarios
Acting is something many students enjoy doing.
A great way to incorporate this is to give students situations and have them act them out.
Picking real-life scenarios is best. Think of things that can happen all over. Outside at recess. In special classes such as art or music. Simple classroom situations are great too.
Students can get a situation from you that they can act out. Have them first show what the problem is. Then have them show a response that would show flexible thinking.
For an extension, students can act out several different endings. All endings can show how thinking with flexibility can look different but still have a great outcome – after all, there is usually more than one right way to solve a problem.
Another way would be to have each student act out a different solution. Then, have the whole group decide which way would be the best way and why.
Don’t have time to come up with different situations? Check out these flexible thinking task cards. Simply print out, cut in half twice, and use. These would be awesome for students to draw from a pile and act out the different scenarios. Each card has a real, everyday problem that children with rigid thinking can get stuck in that happen during the fall season. Students decide which way of thinking is being seen – rigid or flexible. Then have them act out the situation using some of the ideas above. Practicing how to react to these daily stumbles will help each student to become a flexible thinker for future situations. Find these 30+ different flexible thinking scenarios here.
More on Thinking Flexibly
Need some other flexible thinking group activities? Check out this article for 3 great ideas.
Find even more ideas of how to practice the concept of thinking flexibly with the Homeschool Resource Room here.
For some fun ideas on ways to help children accept change, check out this article from A Fine Parent.
Hope you gained some great ideas to work on how to develop flexible thinking with children.
Happy Teaching!
